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Nahuatl
A race from the lands across the horizon, resembling Lizards. Physical Traits They are humanoid in stature, but the other traits of their bodies resemble the ancient dragons. Their large bodies, most of them are around 2m (6 1/2 feet), are covered in thick skin and scales. A tail emerges from their backside, strong enough to swipe a man off his feet. Their legs are strong and eqipped with three toes ending in claws, just like their five-fingered hands do. Large horns emerge from the back of their head. Their eyes rest in the sides of their skulls, giving them excellent peripheral sight. Their nose is flat, and the mough goes nearly over the whole length of the skull. They don't have teeth in the usual sense of the word. Instead, a line fo sharp, sturdy bone runs on the inside of their upper and lower jaw, which allows them effectively chop their food into pieces. Their digestive system is also sturdy and flexible and the have no pain receptors in their mouth. This allows them to eat almost anything on travels through the desert. They are cold-blooded, which requires them to keep a low profile on cold days. However, they developed special fabrics for their clothes and special alloys for their armors which are fit to keep the warmth over a long distance of time. Due to this, it normally doesn't affect them on their journeys. Their abilities in combat are unparalleled in their homeland, but they see fighting and combat as a necessary evil, not something to be proud of. As for the compability with other races, this has yet to be found out, but it is known that their females bear eggs which must be impregnated by a male partner. However, no outsider has yet seen a female Nahuatl. Culture Primal Age There are only few traces of how they lived before they 'civilized' themselves. The few relics indicate that they lived as travelling nomads, roaming all over the face of Nova Mondo. They lived from hunting and gathering, and often led war and raids not only aganst other peoples, but also against their own kin. Their social structure was much simpler; A tribe would be led by a chieftain, which would often be the strongest and most aggressive individual from the tribe. The chieftain, oddly, gender didn't play a role, was the first one to take loot and wives, and upon death, he or she would be burned under the sky. Naturally, after a chieftains death, a lot of fights broke out to decide who would be the successor. Only the lore of two tribes have survived to the present day: * Catzuatl: '''A tribe that has settled down in the jungles surrounding the contemporary homeland of the Nahuatll. The little information available tells the tale of ferocious warriors, fighting over almost everything. Even their daily life was mainly a chain of fights, for the didn't knew the principle of money or barter. Altough it sounds contradicionary, they also left behind impressive monuments of architecture, and the large pyramids they erected in the jungle can still be seen. * '''Nohuatl: Remains of boats, tools and long-deserted huts on some of the islands in Ortus Solis indicate that there was also a tribe leading the life of fishermen and sailors. Aside from blades, jewelry and tools made of bones, which resemble similar objects and working methods of the Nahuatl in the main land, there are no other clues to their existence. Sometimes, travellers and explorers claim to have met the descendants of these tribes, still following the old ways. However, these stories are most likely exaggerations or simply made up. Before the Way of Light: Society: * Nobles: Altough providing only a small portion of the population, the nobles governed over the other three castes. They owned large estates in an outside of the towns and cities, where they employed either Peasants or Slaves. They distanced themselfes from the lower castes by wearing colorful and richly crafted clothing and accessoires, and generally enjoyed the benefits of a wealthy existence. In return they took care of most administrative as well as religious deeds. They commanded the warrior caste in times of war and often, their sons and daughters alike were sent to receive militarical training. Oddly, if a noble were to be found guilty of a crime, his punishment would be heavier as a member of another caste. For example, if he committed a murder, he would be sentenced to death without an exception, while a Peasant could still hope to be turned into a slave. * Warriors: '''As their name implies, the warrirors were responsible for all act involving military. Of course, they provided the mass of the foot soldiers as well as cavalry in times of war. Also, they inherited the role of a police and patrolled through the cities to hold up law and order. Also, the warriors fulfilled the roles of judges during a trial and were entrusted to commence the sentences. To balance their power, they were not allowed to either own land or slaves, nor to employ Peasants for their work. If a soldier retired from the army, he could be hired by a noble and work as a travelling merchant, altough the majority of his profit would go to his employer. They were the only caste that was not allowed to rise and at the same time, they were the largest group. * '''Peasant: '''As their name indicates, they worked on the fields, or in the cities as craftsmen and merchants. Most of them served a noble, who gave them a part of their possession or a stock of wares in exchange for a fixed tribute. However, they were not obliged to stick with a noble and if they deemed their employer as not good enough, they were free to leave and search for another one. Most Peasants employed slaves regularily, but if one should manage to gain enough wealth to employ another Peasant, he would considered a noble from there on. He could enter high society, but only as long as he could sustain his status with his wealth. * '''Slaves: The slaves were, obviously, the lowest caste, and the ways to join them were many. A criminal could be sentenced to slavery for a certain amount of time if he head committed a minor crime, and life-long for an especially grave one, like murder or rape. After the fixed time of his slavery, he was released back into the Peasant caste, as they were the only ones affected by this law. Additionally, parents could sell a child if they were heavily indebted, but the child would be freed at his age of maturity. During a war, the prisoners made were often turned into slaves, and they had little chances of ever returning to their homes and families. In addition, the children of slaves were born free and also, a son could not simply take over the slaves of his father. He either had to buy, release or sell them. Religion Their polytheistic religion revolved mainly around two gods * Huitzilopochtl: God of the sun and war. He was worshipped as the giver of life and death. The peasants prayed for a good sun to let their fruits grow, the Warriors begged for strenght and courage in battle. The nobles prayed for wealth and peace, and the slaves for fair and righteous masters. * '''Tlaloc: '''The Goddess of the moon and weather. The prayers directed at her were for a moist ground and less sand storms, which were a serious threat to travellers and hunters. Additionally, females offered fruits and coins for fertility and healthy offspring. = Sacrifices = Sacrifices, of animals, food and even their own kin played an important role in everyday life. In the morning, fruits and rice were offered to the Gods of sun and harvest, merchant or war, depending on the caste. In times of heavy natural catastrophees, cattle and predatorial animals would be sacrificed to ease the Gods' mood. In times of wars that were about to be lost or long periods of hardship, for example hunger, a sacrifice would be chosen per lot. This could be a member of any caste. If it had come to this, the sacrifice would be brought to the top of the pyramid, where the altar stood. There, the priest would cut out his heart while he or she was still alive and present it towards the sun, begging for the Gods' mercy. = Dead Cult = Since space was short in the cities under the earth, the dead were brought up to the surface and placed on high rocks or, if those were not around, on artifically built stages in the desert. There, they would be eaten by the wild animals of the desert, such as vultures or hyenas. In the belief of the Nahuatl, this was the way ones sould had to take to ascend to the gods. The remains, bones in most case, were cleaned, dried and brought to special boneyards. There, all the bones of a city were gathered, which explains the large pits full of bones that can sometimes be found in the desert. Everyday Life The country they originate from is nothing but a dry and vast desert. Rain almost never occured, which also made agriculture on the surface impossible. Due to this fact, they built their cities deep into the ground, as well as the many rocks and mountains. These cities were only noticable by the temples built outside respectively on top. They not only served as a place to worship the gods, but also as a kind of outpost, where strangers could come and seek shelter from a storm or trade their goods with local merchants. Inside the earth, they used artifical lambs or the unique luminiscent gems they found while they dug tunnels and caverns. Of course, their homes were no simple holes in the earth, but richly decorated and finely furnished complexes, where each family, except for the slaves of course, had thier own home. Altought the social structure was stiff with small chances to improve ones status, it is known that mast were satisfied with their life, for the alternative was to fight for ones survival in the merciless desert. The Way of Light It is not delivered what happened, but as the first Lightbringers arrived in the capital Tenochtitlan, they found the Nahuatl in a desolate state. Widespread diseases and starvation had taken a hold of the warrior, peasant and slave caste, while the nobles secluded themselves in the temples on the surface. In fear of the others, they hoarded food and medicine for themselves and left the rest of their kin to themself. The Cure Horrified by the conditions the found, the Lightbringer immediately sent for medicinical backup and food supply. Against the resistance of the nobles, they made their way into the undercities, where the horror only increased. Unable to bring the dead to the surface, they stacked in the tunnels and caves, only increasing the terrifying state of the inhabitants. The Lightbringers didn't waste any time and evacuated as much Nahuatl to the surface as they could, counting on the support of Way of Light's members as well as the few healthy ones which were left. While they worked day and night, Warriors, Peasants and Slaves alike, the nobles hid in their temples, afraid of catching the disease or the anger of the survivors. It was a work of years, and the Nahuatl barely avoided extinction by losing 85% if their population, but in the end, they survived. However, a time of change and reforms should begin, changing the face of their society forever. The Coming of the Light The Plague, as the events were called by the surviors and the helpers, left the Nahuatl as a whole in a desperated, desillusioned state. They couldn't believe that the gods they relied upon for thousands of years had abandoned them, and that the nobles, responsible for taking care of them betrayed them. However, their grief soon changed into anger, and it was no long way until it was blind, burning wrath. Despite the warnings and the pleads of the Lightbringers, the Warriors, Peasants and Slaves bridged the gaps between their castes. In an unique display of slaughter and destruction, they tracked down every single noble, regardless of age or gender and executed it. At the same time, they raided the temples, burnt scrolls, books and tomes, smashed statues and destroyed reliefs. Undoubtedly, they destroyed in a mere months what took their ancestors thousands to erect. At the end, there were no castes anymore, no gods and none of the old rules. After their angers settled, they turned towards the members of the Way and asked why they received help. Taken aback by the response, that it was part of the teachings of the way, they decided to devote themselves to just those teachings. The former temples were rebuilt to schools, every single individual could choose his occupation freely now and large assembly halls were built to execute the doctrines of the way. Since the disease also poisoned the soil in the caves and greenhouses, it was necessary to clean it, which is a task that is still in progress. Now The incidents which led to the reform of the Nahuatl society lay now almost a hundred years back. Currently, the Nahuatl count to the most eager followers of the Way of the Light, and they seek to spread it as far as possible. The other members of the alliance often have to remind them that the Way should be accepted by understanding its idea and worth and not by being forced to do so. They provide a large part of the Ways military, as well as a great amount of Lightbringers. If they know what caused the plague a hundred years ago, they do no talk about it, and no Nahuatl has ever mentioned any of the Gods names. Currently, Lightbringer Tonauac is entrusted with an important matter across the ocean. Category:Species Category:Factions Category:Nova Mondo Category:BacaloV